Mechanism for facilitating customized data overriding for software programs in an on-demand services environment

ABSTRACT

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for facilitating customized overriding of data for maintenance of software applications in an on-demand services environment. In one embodiment and by way of example, a method includes duplicating first data of a first data set into a second data that is placed in a second data set. The first data relates to a software application at a computing device. The method may further include amending a portion of the second data at the second data set. The amended portion of the second data corresponds to an unchanged portion of the first data. The method may further include facilitating running of the software application based on the first data while referring to the amended portion of the second data and ignoring the corresponding unchanged portion of the first data.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/508,975, entitled “Method and Systems for Data-DrivenApex Tests” by Saurabh Agarwal, filed Jul. 18, 2011 (Attorney Docket No.8956P062Z), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference and priority is claimed thereof.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One or more implementations relate generally to data management and,more specifically, to a mechanism for facilitating customized overridingfor software programs in an on-demand services environment.

BACKGROUND

Most platform application teams use various conventional testingtechniques to test and improve software products for their customers;however, these techniques are seriously limited in features (e.g.,unable to pass data on the fly) and cannot be customized and thus resultin sub-par quality of software products.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the backgroundsection or associated with the subject matter of the background sectionshould not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the priorart. The subject matter in the background section merely representsdifferent approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

In conventional database systems, users access their data resources inone logical database. A user of such a conventional system typicallyretrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's ownsystems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality ofserver systems that might in turn access the database system. Dataretrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from theuser system to the database system. The database system might processthe request for information received in the query and send to the usersystem information relevant to the request. The secure and efficientretrieval of accurate information and subsequent delivery of thisinformation to the user system has been and continues to be a goal ofadministrators of database systems. Unfortunately, conventional databaseapproaches are associated with various limitations.

SUMMARY

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms andmethods for facilitating customized overriding of data for maintenanceof software applications in an on-demand services environment. In oneembodiment and by way of example, a method includes duplicating firstdata of a first data set into a second data that is placed in a seconddata set. The first data relates to a software application at acomputing device. The method may further include amending a portion ofthe second data at the second data set. The amended portion of thesecond data corresponds to an unchanged portion of the first data. Themethod may further include facilitating running of the softwareapplication based on the first data while referring to the amendedportion of the second data and ignoring the corresponding unchangedportion of the first data.

While the present invention is described with reference to an embodimentin which techniques for facilitating management of data in an on-demandservices environment are implemented in a system having an applicationserver providing a front end for an on-demand database service capableof supporting multiple tenants, the present invention is not limited tomulti-tenant databases nor deployment on application servers.Embodiments may be practiced using other database architectures, i.e.,ORACLE®, DB2® by IBM and the like without departing from the scope ofthe embodiments claimed.

Any of the above embodiments may be used alone or together with oneanother in any combination. Inventions encompassed within thisspecification may also include embodiments that are only partiallymentioned or alluded to or are not mentioned or alluded to at all inthis brief summary or in the abstract. Although various embodiments ofthe invention may have been motivated by various deficiencies with theprior art, which may be discussed or alluded to in one or more places inthe specification, the embodiments of the invention do not necessarilyaddress any of these deficiencies. In other words, different embodimentsof the invention may address different deficiencies that may bediscussed in the specification. Some embodiments may only partiallyaddress some deficiencies or just one deficiency that may be discussedin the specification, and some embodiments may not address any of thesedeficiencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples,one or more implementations are not limited to the examples depicted inthe figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing system employing a customized dataoverriding mechanism according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a customized data overriding mechanism employed at acomputing device according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a transaction sequence for customized maintenance ofsoftware programs using a customized data overriding mechanism accordingto one embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for customized maintenance of softwareprograms using a customized data overriding mechanism according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer system according to one embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment wherein anon-demand database service might be used according to one embodiment;and

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of elements ofenvironment of FIG. 6 and various possible interconnections betweenthese elements according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems are provided for facilitating customized overridingof data for maintenance of software applications in an on-demandservices environment. In one embodiment and by way of example, a methodincludes duplicating first data of a first data set into a second datathat is placed in a second data set. The first data relates to asoftware application at a computing device. The method may furtherinclude amending a portion of the second data at the second data set.The amended portion of the second data corresponds to an unchangedportion of the first data. The method may further include facilitatingrunning of the software application based on the first data whilereferring to the amended portion of the second data and ignoring thecorresponding unchanged portion of the first data.

As used herein, a term multi-tenant database system refers to thosesystems in which various elements of hardware and software of thedatabase system may be shared by one or more customers. For example, agiven application server may simultaneously process requests for a greatnumber of customers, and a given database table may store rows for apotentially much greater number of customers. As used herein, the termquery plan refers to a set of steps used to access information in adatabase system.

Next, mechanisms and methods for customized overriding of data formaintenance of software applications in an on-demand service environmentwill be described with reference to example embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing system employing a customized dataoverriding mechanism according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, acomputing device 100 serves as a host machine hosting customized dataoverriding mechanism (“customized data mechanism”) 110 includes adata-driven customization for running, and/or testing of softwareapplications at any number and type of software platforms to facilitatecustomized maintenance of software products (e.g., software applicationsor programs or packages, etc.) for customers. Computing device 100 mayinclude mobile computing devices, such as cellular phones includingsmartphones (e.g., iPhone®, BlackBerry®, etc.), handheld computingdevices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc., tablet computers(e.g., iPad®, Samsung® Galaxy Tab®, etc.), laptop computers (e.g.,notebooks, netbooks, etc.), e-readers (e.g., Kindle®, Nook®, etc.), etc.Computing device 100 may further include set-top boxes (e.g.,Internet-based cable television set-top boxes, etc.), and largercomputing devices, such as desktop computers, server computers,cluster-based computers, etc.

Computing device 100 includes an operating system 106 serving as aninterface between any hardware or physical resources of the computerdevice 100 and a user. Computing device 100 further includes one or moreprocessors 102, memory devices 104, network devices, drivers, or thelike, as well as input/output sources 108, such as touchscreens, touchpanels, touch pads, virtual or regular keyboards, virtual or regularmice, etc. It is to be noted that terms like “node”, “computing node”,“client”, “server”, “machine”, “host machine”, “device”, “computingdevice”, “computer”, “computing system”, “multi-tenant on-demand datasystem”, and the like, are used interchangeably and synonymouslythroughout this document. It is to be further noted that terms like“application”, “program”, and “package” as in software application,software program, and software package, respectively, are usedinterchangeably and synonymously throughout this document.

FIG. 2 illustrates a customized data overriding mechanism employed at acomputing device according to one embodiment. In one embodiment,customized data overriding mechanism 110 includes various components202, 204, 206, and 208 to offer a number of services to facilitatecustomized maintenance (e.g., running, testing, updating, etc.) of anynumber and type of software programs at any number and type of softwaremaintenance platforms in an on-demand services environment. Customizeddata overriding mechanism 110 may provide efficient solutions toproblems (e.g., inability to run only subset of tests in a class,inability to pass data on the fly, etc.) associated with variousconventional testing techniques. Customized testing mechanism 110empowers the user to have various customized sets of data relevant todifferent environments (e.g., software development, software testing,software production, etc.) without requiring any code changes to therelevant software applications. Further, it allows the user to writecustom test suites (such as in Apex testing) and run merely thenecessary tests required, which not only saves execution time, but alsoensures high product quality. Some or all of the components 202-208 maybe collectively referred to as a “parser” in this document.

In one embodiment, a data selection (duplication) module 202 selects orduplicate relevant data from the main data of a main data set relatingto a software application. In another embodiment, the data selectionmodule 202 may simply select or duplicate all of the original data ofthe main data set relating to the software application or facilitate acombination of selection and duplication of some or certain portions ofthe main data of the main data set. This selected or duplicated data iscollectively referred to herein as “selected data”. A custom object(data) generator 204 then places the selected data (from the main dataset) into a custom data set (also referred to as “custom object”) sothat the selected data can be later accessed and used for facilitatingcustomized running or testing of the corresponding software applicationwithout having to change the main data and/or recode the entire softwareapplication. For example and in one embodiment, a data change module 206allows the user to make changes (e.g., a change in customer information,a change in run schedule of any portion of the software application,etc.) to any portion (e.g., code section, record, information, piece,etc.) of the selected data being held by the custom data set to adaptany number and type of changes without having to change the main dataand/or the code of the software application.

Once the change has been made to any portion of the selected data in thecustom data set, in one embodiment, a data overriding unit 208prioritizes this change such that the change overrides the correspondingunchanged portion of the main data in the main data set. In other words,the data overriding unit 208 holds the change in the selected data andfacilitates the running or testing, etc., of the software applicationsuch that it runs using the main data except for when it reaches theportion of the main data that correspond with the changed portion of theselected data. At this point, the software application continues to runbut in accordance with the changed portion of the selected data in thecustom data set while ignoring the corresponding unchanged portion ofthe main data in the main data set. This way, any number of changes canbe accommodated without having to change the main data or re-code theentire software application. In one embodiment, the custom data set andthe main data set and their changed portion(s) and unchanged portion(s),respectively, may be linked and placed in communication with each otherusing one or more hash maps as will be further described with referenceto FIG. 3.

For example, a customer, such as a credit card company, may have apolicy to issue pre-approved credit cards to their customers having acredit score of 650 and above and such determination is made (by thecredit card company) through a process of automated determinationconducted by running a relevant portion of a software program. Forexample, this automated determination portion of the software programmay be set to run twice a week on Mondays and Wednesday in accordancewith the relevant portion of the main data in the main data set relatingto the software program; similarly, the main data may have a creditscore portion listing the qualifying credit score to be 650 and above.

Now, let us suppose, the credit card company wishes to make two changesin their policy: (1) lower the pre-approval qualification to 600 andabove, and (2) conduct the automated determination of qualifiedcustomers once a week, such as on Tuesdays. In one embodiment, using thecustomized data overriding mechanism 110, the two portions (e.g., creditscore portion and the automated determination portion) may be selectedor duplicated from the main data by the data selection module 202. Theseportions are then placed, by the data selection module 202, into acustom data set generated by the custom object generator 204. In oneembodiment, the entire main data or certain other portions of the maindata may already have been selected and placed in the custom data set.

Then, as facilitated by the data change module 206, a user may makesrelevant changes to the two portions of the selected data, such as (1)change the credit score from 650 and above to 600 and above in thecredit score portion, and (2) amend Monday/Wednesday to Tuesday in theautomated determination portion. The data overriding unit 208 detectsthe two changes and assigns priority to the two changed portions in theselected data over the two corresponding unchanged portions in the maindata. Now, when the software program runs, it runs according to the maindata in the main data set except when it reaches the two overriddenportions of the main data where it dynamically and automaticallyswitches to the two corresponding changed portions of the selected datain the custom data set (e.g., choose the credit score of 650+ as thequalifying score from the changed portions of the selected data over600+ as stated in the unchanged portions of the main data, trigger therunning of the automated determination portion on Tuesdays as stated inthe changed portions of the selected data as opposed to on Mondays asstated in the unchanged portions of the main data, etc.) . Once thesoftware program has passed a changed portion (e.g., credit scoreportion) in the selected data, it automatically switches back to themain data and then again to the selected data as soon as it encountersanother changed portion (e.g., automated determination portion), and soforth.

It is contemplated that any number and type of components may be addedto and removed from the customized data overriding mechanism 110 tofacilitate its workings and operability in facilitating customizedoverriding of data for dynamic maintenance of software programs. Forbrevity, clarity, ease of understanding and to focus on the customizeddata overriding mechanism 110, many of the conventional or knowncomponents of a computing device are not shown or discussed here.

FIG. 3 illustrates a transaction sequence for customized maintenance ofsoftware programs using a customized data overriding mechanism accordingto one embodiment. In the illustrated transaction sequence 300, Apexcode testing is provided as an example and in one embodiment toillustrate various functionalities of the customized testing mechanismof FIG. 1. In one embodiment, at block 305, an apex class is shown tohave a test class with test methods that creates instances of variousclasses and uses data populated in the maps. Some of the data mayinclude customer information, such as names, addresses, credit score,etc. At block 310, multiple classes (e.g., one class per object) areprovided that use a multiple-level hash map (e.g., three-level hash map)to create other multiple-level maps (e.g., two-level map) for thatobject. For example, in a two-level map, the two levels may include adata type and a field.

At block 315, the three-level hash map that contains parsed data for allobjects used in the test may contain the three levels of object (e.g.,custom account, etc.), data type (e.g., integer, Boolean, string, etc.),and field (e.g., credit score, customer country of residency, homeaddress, etc.). At block 320, a parser is used to create hash maps usingthe data provided in the two classes. The two classes refer to theaforementioned main data set and custom data set. The parser uses theselected data from the custom data set (e.g., custom object) if itoverrides the corresponding main data in the main data set; otherwise,the main data in the main data set (e.g., apex class) is used. Asaforementioned with reference to FIG. 2, the parser collectively refersto one or more components of the customized data overriding mechanism toperform its various functionalities.

At block 325, the apex class refers to the main data set having maindata for various objects (e.g., account, opportunity, contract, etc.)that are common across all test methods. At block 330, the custom objectrefers to the custom data set having custom data for various objects(e.g., account, opportunity, contract, etc.) that are specific to a testmethod.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for customized maintenance of softwareprograms using a customized data overriding mechanism according to oneembodiment. Method 400 may be performed by processing logic that maycomprise hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic,microcode, etc.), software (such as instructions run on a processingdevice), or a combination thereof, such as firmware or functionalcircuitry within hardware devices. In one embodiment, method 400 isperformed by the customized data overriding mechanism 110 of FIG. 1.

Method 400 begins at block 405 with selecting (or duplicating) anyamount or type of main data being held by a main data set (e.g., apexclass). The main data relates to a software application that is to bemaintained, testing, and updated at a computing system. At block 410, aseparate custom data set (e.g., custom object) is generated toseparately hold the selected (or duplicated) data to be used forcustomized data-driven testing according to one embodiment of theinvention.

At block 415, a determination is made as to whether a change is to bemade to the software application (e.g., change the credit score forpre-authorization, change the number or days of runs of certain portionsof the software application, etc.). If the change is not to be made, thesoftware application continues to run at block 435. If the change is tobe made, at block 420, the change is made to the relevant portion of theselected data being held in the custom data set. At block 425, once thechange has been made to the relevant portion of the selected data in thecustom data set, it is then held to override the corresponding(unchanged) portion of the main data in the main data set. At block 430,in one embodiment, the software application is maintained and runwithout having to be updated or re-coded while referring to the changeportion of the selected data and ignoring the corresponding (unchanged)portion of the main data in the main data set each time the softwareapplication reaches that point or portion in the running process. Stateddifferently, each time the software application reaches that particularportion in the code, the change portion in the custom data set overridesthe corresponding unchanged portion in the main data set.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine 500 in theexemplary form of a computer system, in accordance with one embodiment,within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine 500 toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may beexecuted. Machine 500 is the same as or similar to computing device 100of FIG. 1. In alternative embodiments, the machine may be connected(e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), anintranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The machine may operate in thecapacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment or as a server or series of servers within anon-demand service environment, including an on-demand environmentproviding multi-tenant database storage services. Certain embodiments ofthe machine may be in the form of a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC,a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellulartelephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch orbridge, computing system, or any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated,the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection ofmachines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set(or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The exemplary computer system 500 includes a processor 502, a mainmemory 504 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM(RDRAM), etc., static memory such as flash memory, static random accessmemory (SRAM), volatile but high-data rate RAM, etc.), and a secondarymemory 518 (e.g., a persistent storage device including hard disk drivesand persistent multi-tenant data base implementations), whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 530. Main memory 504 includesemitted execution data 524 (e.g., data emitted by a logging framework)and one or more trace preferences 523 which operate in conjunction withprocessing logic 526 and processor 502 to perform the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

Processor 502 represents one or more general-purpose processing devicessuch as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. Moreparticularly, the processor 502 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor,processor implementing other instruction sets, or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 502 may alsobe one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or thelike. Processor 502 is configured to execute the processing logic 526for performing the operations and functionality of customized dataoverriding mechanism 110 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2and other figures discussed herein.

The computer system 500 may further include a network interface card508. The computer system 500 also may include a user interface 510 (suchas a video display unit, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a cathoderay tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), acursor control device 514 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generationdevice 516 (e.g., an integrated speaker). The computer system 500 mayfurther include peripheral device 536 (e.g., wireless or wiredcommunication devices, memory devices, storage devices, audio processingdevices, video processing devices, etc. The computer system 500 mayfurther include a Hardware based API logging framework 534 capable ofexecuting incoming requests for services and emitting execution dataresponsive to the fulfillment of such incoming requests.

The secondary memory 518 may include a machine-readable storage medium(or more specifically a machine-accessible storage medium) 531 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 522)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions ofcustomized data overriding mechanism 110 as described with reference toFIGS. 1 and 2 and other figures described herein. The software 522 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory504 and/or within the processor 502 during execution thereof by thecomputer system 500, the main memory 504 and the processor 502 alsoconstituting machine-readable storage media. The software 522 mayfurther be transmitted or received over a network 520 via the networkinterface card 508. The machine-readable storage medium 531 may includetransitory or non-transitory machine-readable storage media.

Portions of various embodiments of the present invention may be providedas a computer program product, which may include a computer-readablemedium having stored thereon computer program instructions, which may beused to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform aprocess according to the embodiments of the present invention. Themachine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppydiskettes, optical disks, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), andmagneto-optical disks, ROM, RAM, erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnet or optical cards, flashmemory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable forstoring electronic instructions.

The techniques shown in the figures can be implemented using code anddata stored and executed on one or more electronic devices (e.g., an endstation, a network element). Such electronic devices store andcommunicate (internally and/or with other electronic devices over anetwork) code and data using computer -readable media, such asnon-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks;optical disks; random access memory; read only memory; flash memorydevices; phase-change memory) and transitory computer-readabletransmission media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical or other formof propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals). In addition, such electronic devices typically include a setof one or more processors coupled to one or more other components, suchas one or more storage devices (non-transitory machine-readable storagemedia), user input/output devices (e.g., a keyboard, a touchscreen,and/or a display), and network connections. The coupling of the set ofprocessors and other components is typically through one or more bussesand bridges (also termed as bus controllers). Thus, the storage deviceof a given electronic device typically stores code and/or data forexecution on the set of one or more processors of that electronicdevice. Of course, one or more parts of an embodiment of the inventionmay be implemented using different combinations of software, firmware,and/or hardware.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment 610 wherein anon-demand database service might be used. Environment 610 may includeuser systems 612, network 614, system 616, processor system 617,application platform 618, network interface 620, tenant data storage622, system data storage 624, program code 626, and process space 628.In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have all of the componentslisted and/or may have other elements instead of, or in addition to,those listed above.

Environment 610 is an environment in which an on-demand database serviceexists. User system 612 may be any machine or system that is used by auser to access a database user system. For example, any of user systems612 can be a handheld computing device, a mobile phone, a laptopcomputer, a work station, and/or a network of computing devices. Asillustrated in herein FIG. 6 (and in more detail in FIG. 7) user systems612 might interact via a network 614 with an on-demand database service,which is system 616.

An on-demand database service, such as system 616, is a database systemthat is made available to outside users that do not need to necessarilybe concerned with building and/or maintaining the database system, butinstead may be available for their use when the users need the databasesystem (e.g., on the demand of the users). Some on-demand databaseservices may store information from one or more tenants stored intotables of a common database image to form a multi-tenant database system(MTS). Accordingly, “on-demand database service 616” and “system 616”will be used interchangeably herein. A database image may include one ormore database objects. A relational database management system (RDMS) orthe equivalent may execute storage and retrieval of information againstthe database object(s). Application platform 618 may be a framework thatallows the applications of system 616 to run, such as the hardwareand/or software, e.g., the operating system. In an embodiment, on-demanddatabase service 616 may include an application platform 618 thatenables creation, managing and executing one or more applicationsdeveloped by the provider of the on-demand database service, usersaccessing the on-demand database service via user systems 612, or thirdparty application developers accessing the on-demand database servicevia user systems 612.

The users of user systems 612 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 612 might be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. Forexample, where a salesperson is using a particular user system 612 tointeract with system 616, that user system has the capacities allottedto that salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that usersystem to interact with system 616, that user system has the capacitiesallotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical rolemodel, users at one permission level may have access to applications,data, and database information accessible by a lower permission leveluser, but may not have access to certain applications, databaseinformation, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level.Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard toaccessing and modifying application and database information, dependingon a user's security or permission level.

Network 614 is any network or combination of networks of devices thatcommunicate with one another. For example, network 614 can be any one orany combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. As the most common type of computer network in currentuse is a TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol)network, such as the global internetwork of networks often referred toas the “Internet” with a capital “I,” that network will be used in manyof the examples herein. However, it should be understood that thenetworks that one or more implementations might use are not so limited,although TCP/IP is a frequently implemented protocol.

User systems 612 might communicate with system 616 using TCP/IP and, ata higher network level, use other common Internet protocols tocommunicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTPis used, user system 612 might include an HTTP client commonly referredto as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP messages to and from anHTTP server at system 616. Such an HTTP server might be implemented asthe sole network interface between system 616 and network 614, but othertechniques might be used as well or instead. In some implementations,the interface between system 616 and network 614 includes load sharingfunctionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors to balanceloads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a plurality ofservers. At least as for the users that are accessing that server, eachof the plurality of servers has access to the MTS' data; however, otheralternative configurations may be used instead.

In one embodiment, system 616, shown in FIG. 6, implements a web-basedcustomer relationship management (CRM) system. For example, in oneembodiment, system 616 includes application servers configured toimplement and execute CRM software applications as well as providerelated data, code, forms, webpages and other information to and fromuser systems 612 and to store to, and retrieve from, a database systemrelated data, objects, and Webpage content. With a multi-tenant system,data for multiple tenants may be stored in the same physical databaseobject, however, tenant data typically is arranged so that data of onetenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants so that onetenant does not have access to another tenant's data, unless such datais expressly shared. In certain embodiments, system 616 implementsapplications other than, or in addition to, a CRM application. Forexample, system 616 may provide tenant access to multiple hosted(standard and custom) applications, including a CRM application. User(or third party developer) applications, which may or may not includeCRM, may be supported by the application platform 618, which managescreation, storage of the applications into one or more database objectsand executing of the applications in a virtual machine in the processspace of the system 616.

One arrangement for elements of system 616 is shown in FIG. 6, includinga network interface 620, application platform 618, tenant data storage622 for tenant data 623, system data storage 624 for system data 625accessible to system 616 and possibly multiple tenants, program code 626for implementing various functions of system 616, and a process space628 for executing MTS system processes and tenant-specific processes,such as running applications as part of an application hosting service.Additional processes that may execute on system 616 include databaseindexing processes.

Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 6 include conventional,well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example,each user system 612 could include a desktop personal computer,workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any wireless access protocol(WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other networkconnection. User system 612 typically runs an HTTP client, e.g., abrowsing program, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser,Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, or a WAP-enabled browserin the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like,allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system)of user system 612 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from system 616 over network 614. Each usersystem 612 also typically includes one or more user interface devices,such as a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen orthe like, for interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI) providedby the browser on a display (e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, etc.)in conjunction with pages, forms, applications and other informationprovided by system 616 or other systems or servers. For example, theuser interface device can be used to access data and applications hostedby system 616, and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwiseallow a user to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented toa user. As discussed above, embodiments are suitable for use with theInternet, which refers to a specific global internetwork of networks.However, it should be understood that other networks can be used insteadof the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or the like.

According to one embodiment, each user system 612 and all of itscomponents are operator configurable using applications, such as abrowser, including computer code run using a central processing unitsuch as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, system 616(and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) andall of their components might be operator configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using a central processingunit such as processor system 617, which may include an Intel Pentium®processor or the like, and/or multiple processor units. A computerprogram product embodiment includes a machine-readable storage medium(media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used toprogram a computer to perform any of the processes of the embodimentsdescribed herein. Computer code for operating and configuring system 616to intercommunicate and to process webpages, applications and other dataand media content as described herein are preferably downloaded andstored on a hard disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof,may also be stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory mediumor device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on anymedia capable of storing program code, such as any type of rotatingmedia including floppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk(DVD), compact disk (CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, andmagnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs),or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/ordata. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may betransmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmissionmedium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, as is wellknown, or transmitted over any other conventional network connection asis well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communicationmedium and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as arewell known. It will also be appreciated that computer code forimplementing embodiments can be implemented in any programming languagethat can be executed on a client system and/or server or server systemsuch as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language, Java™,JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such as VBScript, andmany other programming languages as are well known may be used. (Java™is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).

According to one embodiment, each system 616 is configured to providewebpages, forms, applications, data and media content to user (client)systems 612 to support the access by user systems 612 as tenants ofsystem 616. As such, system 616 provides security mechanisms to keepeach tenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than oneMTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another(e.g., in a server farm located in a single building or campus), or theymay be distributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one ormore servers located in city A and one or more servers located in cityB). As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/orphysically connected servers distributed locally or across one or moregeographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant toinclude a computer system, including processing hardware and processspace(s), and an associated storage system and database application(e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. It should also beunderstood that “server system” and “server” are often usedinterchangeably herein. Similarly, the database object described hereincan be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, acollection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online oroffline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include adistributed database or storage network and associated processingintelligence.

FIG. 7 also illustrates environment 610. However, in FIG. 7 elements ofsystem 616 and various interconnections in an embodiment are furtherillustrated. FIG. 7 shows that user system 612 may include processorsystem 612A, memory system 612B, input system 612C, and output system612D. FIG. 7 shows network 614 and system 616. FIG. 7 also shows thatsystem 616 may include tenant data storage 622, tenant data 623, systemdata storage 624, system data 625, User Interface (UI) 730, ApplicationProgram Interface (API) 732, PL/SOQL 734, save routines 736, applicationsetup mechanism 738, applications servers 700 ₁-700 _(N), system processspace 702, tenant process spaces 704, tenant management process space710, tenant storage area 712, user storage 714, and application metadata716. In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have the sameelements as those listed above and/or may have other elements insteadof, or in addition to, those listed above.

User system 612, network 614, system 616, tenant data storage 622, andsystem data storage 624 were discussed above in FIG. 6. Regarding usersystem 612, processor system 612A may be any combination of one or moreprocessors. Memory system 612B may be any combination of one or morememory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system 612Cmay be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards,mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks.Output system 612D may be any combination of output devices, such as oneor more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown byFIG. 7, system 616 may include a network interface 620 (of FIG. 6)implemented as a set of HTTP application servers 700, an applicationplatform 618, tenant data storage 622, and system data storage 624. Alsoshown is system process space 702, including individual tenant processspaces 704 and a tenant management process space 710. Each applicationserver 700 may be configured to tenant data storage 622 and the tenantdata 623 therein, and system data storage 624 and the system data 625therein to serve requests of user systems 612. The tenant data 623 mightbe divided into individual tenant storage areas 712, which can be eithera physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangement of data. Within eachtenant storage area 712, user storage 714 and application metadata 716might be similarly allocated for each user. For example, a copy of auser's most recently used (MRU) items might be stored to user storage714. Similarly, a copy of MRU items for an entire organization that is atenant might be stored to tenant storage area 712. A UI 730 provides auser interface and an API 732 provides an application programmerinterface to system 616 resident processes to users and/or developers atuser systems 612. The tenant data and the system data may be stored invarious databases, such as one or more Oracle™ databases.

Application platform 618 includes an application setup mechanism 738that supports application developers' creation and management ofapplications, which may be saved as metadata into tenant data storage622 by save routines 736 for execution by subscribers as one or moretenant process spaces 704 managed by tenant management process 710 forexample. Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 734that provides a programming language style interface extension to API732. A detailed description of some PL/SOQL language embodiments isdiscussed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,478 entitled, “Methodand System for Allowing Access to Developed Applicants via aMulti-Tenant Database On-Demand Database Service” issued Jun. 1, 2010 toCraig Weissman, which is incorporated in its entirety herein for allpurposes. Invocations to applications may be detected by one or moresystem processes, which manage retrieving application metadata 716 forthe subscriber making the invocation and executing the metadata as anapplication in a virtual machine.

Each application server 700 may be communicably coupled to databasesystems, e.g., having access to system data 625 and tenant data 623, viaa different network connection. For example, one application server 700₁ might be coupled via the network 614 (e.g., the Internet), anotherapplication server 700 _(N-1) might be coupled via a direct networklink, and another application server 700 _(N) might be coupled by yet adifferent network connection. Transfer Control Protocol and InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating betweenapplication servers 700 and the database system. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that other transport protocols may beused to optimize the system depending on the network interconnect used.

In certain embodiments, each application server 700 is configured tohandle requests for any user associated with any organization that is atenant. Because it is desirable to be able to add and remove applicationservers from the server pool at any time for any reason, there ispreferably no server affinity for a user and/or organization to aspecific application server 700. In one embodiment, therefore, aninterface system implementing a load balancing function (e.g., an F5Big-IP load balancer) is communicably coupled between the applicationservers 700 and the user systems 612 to distribute requests to theapplication servers 700. In one embodiment, the load balancer uses aleast connections algorithm to route user requests to the applicationservers 700. Other examples of load balancing algorithms, such as roundrobin and observed response time, also can be used. For example, incertain embodiments, three consecutive requests from the same user couldhit three different application servers 700, and three requests fromdifferent users could hit the same application server 700. In thismanner, system 616 is multi-tenant, wherein system 616 handles storageof, and access to, different objects, data and applications acrossdisparate users and organizations.

As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that employs asales force where each salesperson uses system 616 to manage their salesprocess. Thus, a user might maintain contact data, leads data, customerfollow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data, etc., allapplicable to that user's personal sales process (e.g., in tenant datastorage 622). In an example of a MTS arrangement, since all of the dataand the applications to access, view, modify, report, transmit,calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a user system havingnothing more than network access, the user can manage his or her salesefforts and cycles from any of many different user systems. For example,if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internetaccess in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates as tothat customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data might be separate from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data might beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users orall of the users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, theremight be some data structures managed by system 616 that are allocatedat the tenant level while other data structures might be managed at theuser level. Because an MTS might support multiple tenants includingpossible competitors, the MTS should have security protocols that keepdata, applications, and application use separate. Also, because manytenants may opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their ownsystem, redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions thatmay be implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant specific data, system 616 might also maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data mightinclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In certain embodiments, user systems 612 (which may be client systems)communicate with application servers 700 to request and updatesystem-level and tenant-level data from system 616 that may requiresending one or more queries to tenant data storage 622 and/or systemdata storage 624. System 616 (e.g., an application server 700 in system616) automatically generates one or more SQL statements (e.g., one ormore SQL queries) that are designed to access the desired information.System data storage 624 may generate query plans to access the requesteddata from the database.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefinedcategories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and may beused herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and customobjects. It should be understood that “table” and “object” may be usedinterchangeably herein. Each table generally contains one or more datacategories logically arranged as columns or fields in a viewable schema.Each row or record of a table contains an instance of data for eachcategory defined by the fields. For example, a CRM database may includea table that describes a customer with fields for basic contactinformation such as name, address, phone number, fax number, etc.Another table might describe a purchase order, including fields forinformation such as customer, product, sale price, date, etc. In somemulti-tenant database systems, standard entity tables might be providedfor use by all tenants. For CRM database applications, such standardentities might include tables for Account, Contact, Lead, andOpportunity data, each containing pre-defined fields. It should beunderstood that the word “entity” may also be used interchangeablyherein with “object” and “table”.

In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be allowed to createand store custom objects, or they may be allowed to customize standardentities or objects, for example by creating custom fields for standardobjects, including custom index fields. U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/817,161, filed Apr. 2, 2004, entitled “Custom Entities and Fields ina Multi-Tenant Database System”, and which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference, teaches systems and methods for creating custom objects aswell as customizing standard objects in a multi-tenant database system.In certain embodiments, for example, all custom entity data rows arestored in a single multi-tenant physical table, which may containmultiple logical tables per organization. It is transparent to customersthat their multiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table orthat their data may be stored in the same table as the data of othercustomers.

While one or more implementations have been described by way of exampleand in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to be understood thatone or more implementations are not limited to the disclosedembodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements. It is to be understood that theabove description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: duplicating first data of afirst data set into a second data that is placed in a second data set,wherein the first data relates to a software application at a computingdevice; amending a portion of the second data at the second data set,wherein the amended portion of the second data corresponds to anunchanged portion of the first data; and facilitating running of thesoftware application based on the first data while referring to theamended portion of the second data and ignoring the correspondingunchanged portion of the first data.
 2. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising generating the second data set to holdthe second data, wherein the second data set is in communication withthe first data set using one or more hash maps.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising assigningpriority to the amended portion of the first data over the correspondingunchanged portion of the second data such that the amended portion ofthe first data overrides the unchanged portion of the second data. 4.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein duplicatingcomprises selectively choosing one or more first records of the firstdata of the first data set to be converted into one or more secondrecords of the second data of the second data set.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising testing thesoftware application based on the first data while referring to theamended portion of the second data and ignoring the correspondingunchanged portion of the first data.
 6. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises one or more of mobilecomputing devices, personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheldcomputer, an e-reader, a tablet computer, a notebook, a netbook, adesktop computer, a server computer, a cluster-based computer, and aset-top box.
 7. A system comprising: a computing device having a memoryto store instructions, and a processing device to execute theinstructions, wherein the instructions cause the processing device to:duplicate first data of a first data set into a second data that isplaced in a second data set, wherein the first data relates to asoftware application at a computing device; amend a portion of thesecond data at the second data set, wherein the amended portion of thesecond data corresponds to an unchanged portion of the first data; andfacilitate running of the software application based on the first datawhile referring to the amended portion of the second data and ignoringthe corresponding unchanged portion of the first data.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the processing device is further to generate the seconddata set to hold the second data, wherein the second data set is incommunication with the first data set using one or more hash maps. 9.The system of claim 7, wherein the processing device is further toassign priority to the amended portion of the first data over thecorresponding unchanged portion of the second data such that the amendedportion of the first data overrides the unchanged portion of the seconddata.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein duplicating comprisesselectively choosing one or more first records of the first data of thefirst data set to be converted into one or more second records of thesecond data of the second data set.
 11. The system of claim 7, whereinthe processing device is further to test the software application basedon the first data while referring to the amended portion of the seconddata and ignoring the corresponding unchanged portion of the first data.12. The system of claim 7, wherein the computing device comprises one ormore of mobile computing devices, personal digital assistant (PDA), ahandheld computer, an e-reader, a tablet computer, a notebook, anetbook, a desktop computer, a server computer, a cluster-basedcomputer, and a set-top box.
 13. A machine-readable medium having storedthereon instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause themachine to: duplicate first data of a first data set into a second datathat is placed in a second data set, wherein the first data relates to asoftware application at a computing device; amend a portion of thesecond data at the second data set, wherein the amended portion of thesecond data corresponds to an unchanged portion of the first data; andfacilitate running of the software application based on the first datawhile referring to the amended portion of the second data and ignoringthe corresponding unchanged portion of the first data.
 14. Themachine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the machine is further togenerate the second data set to hold the second data, wherein the seconddata set is in communication with the first data set using one or morehash maps.
 15. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein themachine is further to assign priority to the amended portion of thefirst data over the corresponding unchanged portion of the second datasuch that the amended portion of the first data overrides the unchangedportion of the second data.
 16. The machine-readable medium of claim 13,wherein duplicating comprises selectively choosing one or more firstrecords of the first data of the first data set to be converted into oneor more second records of the second data of the second data set. 17.The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the machine is furtherto test the software application based on the first data while referringto the amended portion of the second data and ignoring the correspondingunchanged portion of the first data.
 18. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 13, wherein the computing device comprises one or more of mobilecomputing devices, personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheldcomputer, an e-reader, a tablet computer, a notebook, a netbook, adesktop computer, a server computer, a cluster-based computer, and aset-top box